IAN WOODS

Having initially stumbled upon the death row story of Richard Glossip by accident he believes it to be the most compelling news story of his thirty year career.

His debut book based on Glossip's story, Surviving Execution, was acquired by Atlantic Books for publication in 2017, and has been optioned for film by ITV Studios.

LATEST BOOK: SURVIVNG EXECUTION

The story of death row inmate helping to kill the death penalty and the British journalist who became his advocate and friend. For fans of Serial and Making a Murderer.

In January 2015, British TV reporter Ian Woods received an invitation to witness an execution. The prisoner scheduled to die – Richard Glossip - has been on death row in Oklahoma for 18 years, convicted of a murder committed by another man. That killer is serving life in prison, having escaped the death penalty by testifying that Glossip masterminded the crime.

Since then the journalist and the prisoner have become friends, as Woods documents Glossip’s fight to prove his innocence and survive the state’s efforts to kill him.Glossip was scheduled to die three times during 2015. Twice he was granted a temporary reprieve by a court with hours to spare. In September, he survived only because the prison had been sent the wrong drug to use in the lethal injection. The news was broken after the time he was due to die, while Glossip was waiting to be taken into the death chamber, and Woods was waiting to witness the execution.

An inquiry into the fiasco is almost complete and Oklahoma is expected to make another attempt to execute Glossip later this year. Once again, Woods will be asked to witness the ultimate punishment for a crime Glossip did not commit - unless Glossip's lawyers can convince Oklahoma to overturn his conviction in time.

Surviving Execution is a remarkable true story of how a veteran British journalist came to champion the cause of an American prisoner whose case had largely been ignored. Along the way Woods has forged alliances with Oscar winning actress Susan Sarandon, the author of Dead Man Walking Sister Helen Prejean, and Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson, all of whom believe Glossip is not guilty of murder.